So I delivered my former pickup to the new owner in Dallas; he's from Mississippi, and offered to meet me near the airport (an 8-hour drive for him), having relatives nearby. The deal was he was to pay my fuel to get to Dallas plus my flight back home.
I left Las Cruces, NM on Thanksgiving day/morning @ 3:30 am and ran into some rain, then snow most of the way though Texas. I've never had so much ice build up before - seem like the fenders were done with wide fairings! Wipers did little good as they froze; ice surrounded/framed the windshield yet the defroster did some good. At one rest stop I picked off the thick layer of ice from the headlights! Did I say it was ccc-ccoooooollllllddddd?
Yes, things are bigger in Texas - even the snow flakes, being the size of quarters and half dollars at times.
Since it was coming down well, I decided to keep going as they could close the interstate anytime, and I did not want to get stranded. After 12-long hours on the road, I found a hotel in SW Dallas of the thrifty persuasion; the first thing that went on was the heater!
I went brain dead and turned on the tube to see what was to become of the storm. Oh: tomorrow is Black Friday! Macy's boasts about opening at 6 am; Target 5 am; others at 4; and WalMart never closes! Geesh!
I sleep my best in weeks, especially after seeing The Incredibles (hilarious animated movie).
Outside it is ssssssooooooo cooooooolllllllllddddd, though most of the ice is gone from the pickup. I find a self-serv car wash and clean it for the new owner - my hands became numb in the process, though the hotel towels sure came in handy (yes, I returned them, and had to run hot water over my hands!) to prevent water spots.
I stopped at the air museum, and though good displays, passed on it as there's nothing of particular interest and I'm here alone - would rather see it all with others.
Now the new owner was to meet me, 4-6 pm at Whole Foods market in Dallas, near the airport. So I wander up around those parts of town, with a lot of time to burn. Going up and down revealed lots of high-end car dealers - Maserati (sp?), Lambo, Ferrari, MBZ, BMW, Lexus, Infinity; nothing which interests me but that's fine for others, e$pecially in thi$ area. Asking around revealed no local Toyota dealer! Too budget-orineted? One salesman was kind enough to make some calls and found at least one in the distance. I wasted time on their lot sitting in Tundras, and asked for a license-plate filler - they would not do it! See: New Mexico has a keep-your-issued-plate policy, but I did not want the buyer to drive all that way without a filler, to keep smokey at bay. He'll mail it back to me, now.
My next stop was at the Speed Zone (.com), where they have three kart tracks; none interested me (my son and I did the indoor one in Phoenix, which is difficult to top). They did have what was called a top eliminator-dragster strip; looks likt GM 350s with (they claimed) 400 HP?! Look like fun, folks doing burnouts, and certainly something to do one day.
Back at Whole Foods to buy artisan bread, wild rice, spices and other things one cannot find in the hick town where we live; with cell phone in hand, my wife directed me from aisle to aisle for those precious few things to fill my travel bag.
The new buyer arrived about an hour later, and after doing our business and me babeling on about what is this noise, how to do this and that, he drove me to the terminal for my departure back to El Paso. The shuttle delivered me home at 11 pm - what an experience.
Oh: the Mustang is in the garage...I feel young again - an era of my youth has returned; don't know how long that will last...